“It will deliver snow to Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and, most remarkably, possible low level snow in north Africa, although it is unlikely to settle.”

One person is dying every five minutes due to cold weather this week, as Britain reels from a winter death rate twice as high as some of the world’s coldest countries, according to the Department of Health’s Chief Medical Officer.

Many of the dying are elderly. Pensioners groups described the figures as “shocking.”

Professor Dame Sally Davies said the average increase in winter deaths in England and Wales is 1,560 per week compared to non-winter months, with a “substantial” increase on top of that total expected due to extreme cold this week.

A death total close to 2,000 is expected, working out at 285 per day and one death every five minutes.